Have you ever moved and realized that you left something behind or you can’t find a lot of things in your new house? Well, it happens a lot if you don’t plan ahead and come up with a moving checklist to help you stay organized. By the time you want to move, the assumption is that you have identified a new house in another area, completed your due diligence on security, community policies and found suitable institutions and amenities for your family.

If you have that down, the next step is to start planning how to transport everything from your old house to the new one. Here is a fantastic moving checklist that begins four weeks before the move so that the process is not too slow or too fast:

Week 4

If you live in a rental, inform your landlord that you will be moving in a month’s time. Most owners require a month’s notice but if your contract says two months; then it’s important to give notice eight weeks before.

Start researching moving companies, get different quotes and read all their requirements and offers.

Make a list of what you want to go with and what has run its course. You should not take old stuff that you no longer use to your beautiful new house.

Notify your children’s school of the move and get them to prepare transcripts.

Week 2

Get rid of unnecessary stuff by having a garage sale, selling them online, donating to charitable organizations or even giving to your neighbors.

Have your car serviced for the long distance road trip ahead.

Start packing stuff you don’t often use in boxes and label everything according to the content and the room it’s going.

Notify your utility services, government offices and other businesses like the insurance company, bank, laundry service and monthly subscriptions so they can cancel or transfer your services to the new location.

Week 1

Call the moving company to confirm the moving date.

Use up all the food items in the fridge and pantry and prepare the appliances by emptying gas, oil and cleaning them.

Pack an essentials box that has all the delicate and important things you will need when you get there like bulbs, scissors, trash bags, and toolkit. Carry the box in your car instead of putting it in the van.

Pack travel necessities like toiletries, snacks, and clothing that you will need during the trip.

Have the new house cleaned, walkway ready for the move and utilities running and ready.

Pack absolutely everything except one or two clothes and have them labeled correctly.

Please note that valuable items like documents, jewelry and heirlooms should be packed in your car.

Set the cleaning items aside because you will need to clean after everything is out.

Pack everything in one or two rooms and thoroughly clean the other rooms. All the main cleaning of windows, doors, walls, and AC unit should be done during the week.

Have any repairs done and remove nails, hooks pictures as well as concealing all dents and scratches with paint and fillers.

Moving day

The D-day is here, and final touches are all that you need. Call the moving company bright and early to confirm time and location. Go through your checklist to see that everything has been done and help the movers to load stuff in the truck. Do a thorough walk-through in the house to ensure nothing has been left behind and then do a final sweep or mop of the floors.

Moving means taking care of a long list of tasks before you make the huge transition to your new home. However, you can take the initiative and get yourself prepared for moving day without the stress and frustration you may normally experience by procrastinating it. Follow our complete mover’s checklist below of the top nine things you should get done before your last day at your old home.

1. Switch Over Your Address

This is one of the easier ones. All you have to do is contact the USPS and let them know your new address to send your mail from now on. This also leads to our next step of notifying your utility companies and insurance providers of your new address as well.

2. Get in Touch With Your Utility and Insurance Providers

To disconnect the service at your old address, you have to get in contact with your utility and insurance providers and let them know your new address to start up service there instead. You should also let them know your new address, so they know where to send your final bill if you don’t plan to continue using their services.

3. Move Over Your Basic Belongings

If your new home isn’t too far away, you should plan to move over your basic belongings the day before moving day. This way, you have necessities, such as clothes and food in advance, before the chaos of endless moving boxes takes over your new place.

4. Contact a Moving Company to Disassemble Your Furniture

Although this is usually a standard service among moving companies, you should make sure that you hire one that can disassemble your furniture. However, if you’re a DIY person or want to save some money, you can always do it yourself.

5. Collect and Secure Your Records

Before moving day, you should make sure you collect and secure important documents, such as passports, driving licenses, wills, etc. You don’t necessarily want movers to see these documents out in the open, so make sure you put them in a secure box. It’s not a bad idea to move these documents over a day early to make sure you don’t leave them behind.

6. Stay Safe with Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

When you move over to your next place, make sure that you have plenty of batteries, and backup batteries, to put into the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as soon as you arrive. This way, you can avoid any dangerous situations, especially when you’re getting newly adjusted to your new home.

7. Organize Your Moving Boxes

Sure, there are plenty of ways you can organize your moving boxes, but you should arrange them depending on which room they’ll be going in your new home. Cheap Movers LAX (8605 Santa Monica Blvd # 37784, Los Angeles, CA 90069,(213) 204-6204, www.cheapmoverslax.com), LA movers, says color coordinating and labeling them is also another good idea to prevent you from forgetting which box is which.

While moving can be an exhausting process, it can also provide you with a great opportunity to clean and rid your home of unnecessary clutter. After all, you don’t want to waste any extra time or money trying to organize, pack, and transport items that you no longer need or that are dirty and falling apart. Plus, if you’re moving in New York City, there probably isn’t room in your apartment for these unwanted or unused items. For a few tips to help you get started, read our guide below on how to clean your household possessions before packing for an NYC move.

Invest in Quality Cleaning Products

Our first recommendation is to purchase or borrow quality cleaning products to thoroughly wash your belongings. You may need to invest in everything from color-safe laundry detergent to glass cleaner to silverware polish to clean various items that you own. To make sure that you have all appropriate cleaning supplies, try and make a list of everything that you’ll need to clean prior to packing. This will ensure you have the necessary products on hand when you begin the cleaning process.

Go Through Each Room

After you’ve gathered your supplies, go through each room of your house and organize your belongings, including clothing, toiletries, home decor, kitchenware, bedding, books, toys, and important paperwork. Don’t forget to clear out all closets, drawers, and cabinet spaces as well. Then, sort through all of your belongings and decide which items you should keep or toss, depending on how often you use them. This can drastically reduce the number of things that you’ll need to clean and store away in boxes, making the moving process much easier and faster to accomplish.

Carefully Examine All Items

When you’re done sorting through belongings that you’ll take with you on the big move, make sure to examine each one to see what kind of shape it’s in. Items that haven’t been used recently, such as linens and blankets, can have a musty smell and will need to be washed in a laundry machine and dried out completely before being stored in boxes. Dishes and silverware should also be thoroughly washed and dried before being packed away as well as any toiletries that are being brought from the bathrooms. Books, CDs, movies and small electronics can all be wiped down as needed. Essentially, each item should be carefully looked at and cleaned as necessary before being placing in a box.

While a new apartment or home may appear spotless, there’s a good chance that the previous owners left many harmful germs behind. And to avoid the build up of viruses or bacteria around your new living space, here are seven reasons to clean your house before moving in.

1. Doorknobs and Handles

Doorknobs and handles can be covered with dangerous bacteria that can cause influenza and skin infections. Because they’re used every day by family members, roommates, or guests that visit your home, you’ll need to sanitize all doorknobs and handles as soon as possible after moving into your new home. This includes not only knobs on your exterior and interior doors, but also kitchen cabinets, bedroom closet handles, bathroom drawer knobs, and patio door handles.

2. Bathtubs and Shower Stalls

The bathroom can contain many harmful germs if not cleaned properly. Bathtubs and shower stalls can contain urine, fungi, or fecal matter left by previous owners, and to protect your family from mold and germs, it’s best to clean these items before you use them. Wash all bathtubs and shower stalls with a mixture of bleach and water, which can eliminate harmful pathogens that could cause athletes foot or a respiratory infection.

3. Toilets

Toilets are another bathroom amenity that should be cleaned immediately. This bathroom throne can contain E. coli, Streptococcus, and in severe cases, Norovirus. The germs from fecal matter and urine can collect in a toilet’s bowl, seat, or tank, and should be sanitized with a bathroom cleaner before use.

4. Carpets and Floors

Carpets and floors can be covered with dirt that gets tracked in from shoes, household food, dust, and pet waste. If the previous owner has a food spill on carpet, Salmonella can grow and make your family sick with fever and gastrointestinal distress. To avoid this, rent a carpet cleaner and floor scrubber to clean all carpets and floor tiles before moving in.

5. Air Ducts and Vents

An older apartment or home can have several pounds of dust, pollen, or hair in air ducts and vents. And if you or your family have airborne allergies, it’s essential to clean your home’s ventilation system as soon as possible. Remove all the covers from vents to clean inside of air shafts and eliminate dust from ductwork. It’s also a good idea to change the filters on all humidifiers or dehumidifiers as well.

6. Refrigerator

To avoid foodborne illnesses that can be caused by a dirty refrigerator, sanitize all shelves, drawers, and surfaces that are inside of the fridge. You may even want to remove all shelving and drawers to wash each item in the kitchen sink. You’ll feel much better storing your food after you’ve cleaned a fridge that once belonged to someone else.

7. Electrical Switch Plates

The switch plates in a new home can be covered in germs that can make you and your family sick. Most light switches have deep grooves where dangerous bacteria can collect and multiply. And to clean these plates, use a damp cloth soaked in water mixed with bleach to clean each light switch in the house.

Clean Before Moving In

Our last bit of advice? When planning your move, take the time to clean prior your new place prior to moving day, even if that means a bit of a delay. Movers from Apple Moving El Paso team shared with us that most moving companies will reassemble and arrange furniture as part of the move. If you try to clean after they’ve emptied out the moving truck and gotten your belongings situated, you’ll have to do double the work trying clean around everything you own. To make the whole transition easier on yourself, push up those sleeves and get busy cleaning before the movers ever arrive.

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With time-consuming court cases and stressful landlord disagreements, it can be daunting to ask for a security deposit back on a house or apartment. Although a Broom Clean condition is all that the law requires for a total amount to be returned, most tenants have no idea how to clean their houses or rental units for inspection. If you’re planning on moving out of your living space and want to get your full security deposit back, we’re here to help! Below are a few tips on cleaning and preparing your home that will cover the basics as well as impress your landlord.

Floors and Surfaces

Your entire home must have clean floors and surfaces to get your full security deposit back. Make sure to sweep all of your rooms to get rid of any dust and dirt and collect all waste into a trash bag. Then, mop all floors to ensure that there isn’t any grime or sticky residue left. If your home has carpet, vacuum each room thoroughly to remove any dust, dirt, or hair. You’ll also need to dust ceiling fans, window frames, kitchen appliances, washer/dryers, and floor moldings as well.

Forgettable Details

Double check that you’ve cleaned forgettable details that often get overlooked. Wipe down top shelves, curtains, baseboards, faucets, and HVAC units, and check the spaces behind appliances and furnishings as well. Be sure to clean door handles on entrance doors, interior doors, and appliances, as well as doorways themselves. As most people often forget about their home’s outer appearance, and it’s wise to also sweep the driveway, entranceway, porch, steps, and garage.

Extra TLC

While all rooms deserve cleaning attention, be sure to provide extra care to the kitchen and bathroom. These rooms tend to be the messiest in a home and can get the most floor and surface wear and tear. A kitchen usually contains cabinets, drawers, appliances, counter tops, a pantry, a table, and backsplash, which can be time-consuming to clean and will need a lot of elbow grease. Cleaning a bathroom includes making sure that the shower, tub, toilet, sinks, and mirror are spotless and free from any dirt, which can also take up a lot of time.

Between your family, guests, pets, and food, the one thing that requires the most TLC can be a home’s carpeting. And it’s best to make sure that you deep clean a carpet with carpet cleaner or soak in baking soda to lift the various stains and smells.

Hire a Professional

If you have a busy schedule and don’t have the time to clean your home thoroughly, a professional cleaning service might be the way to go. If you can afford it, a cleaning company will ensure a properly cleaned home and can have the process done quickly and efficiently. Just be sure to research any company that you hire and keep your receipts in a safe place, in the case of any missed details or dissatisfaction with the cleaning service.

Timing Cleaning With Your Out of State Move

During the moving process, there will be lots of extra feet and bodies in and out of your home as things get packed and loaded onto the moving truck. For this reason, Great Guys Long Distance Movers recommends waiting to clean your home until after the movers have come and gone. Not only will you avoid having to clean twice, but it will be much easier to be thorough without furniture and other items cluttering your space. Another perk is that by keeping your cleaning supplies out, you’ll have them with you when you arrive at your new home. Often, there is a 2-3 week lapse between the time your moving company picks up your household goods and delivers them to your new home. During this time, you should have plenty of time to clean your new house for move-in day!

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